Recently in Downey Category

Councilwoman Anne Bayer at tonight's Downey City Council meeting was recognized by her peers for her new role as president of the board of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments.

Gateway Cities COG is a nonprofit advocacy group that represents the 27 cities of Southeast LA County and includes the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Among its initiatives are the Clean Air Program, a three-pronged plan to reduce emissions at the ports, and transportation studies for major freeways such as the Long Beach (710) and Santa Ana (5) freeways.

Bayer, who represents the city's District 4, is the second Downey city leader to hold the year-long post. Former District 1 Councilman Keith McCarthy served as Gateway Cities COG's board president from July 2001 to June 2002. 

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Candidate filings for the Nov. 4 election don't open until Monday, but two prospectives who have expressed their intent to run for District 5 were greeted by out-going District 5 Councilman Kirk Cartozian from the dais.

Attending this evening's council meeting were businessman and Downey Rose Float Association president Gary DeRemer, and District 1 Cable TV Citizens Advisory Committee member Luis Marquez.

"They won't have big shoes to fill," Cartozian joked.

Its razing last year had been a sight to behold. For more than a year, it's become an eyesore as it lay inert under a development moratorium. These next few days are your last seeing the remains of Johnie's Broiler, 7447 Firestone Blvd., the 1960s drive-thru diner that was illegally demolished in January 2007. 

All of it - crumbled stonework, twisted metal and broken wood columns - was finally being cleared from the 90,000-square-foot site. There's no need for the sentimental to worry: some of Johnie's surviving pieces is planned to be included in the drive-thru's reincarnation as a Bob's Big Boy restaurant.

Cleanup efforts were originally meant to begin early May, but had to be delayed when the Air Quality Management District felt that the original asbestos report insufficient, said Downey Deputy City Manager Gilbert Livas.

The report turned in at the time was written just after Johnie's January 2007 illegal demolition, and a more up-to-date report was required.

Johnie's Broiler - christened Harvey's Broiler by its founders, the late Harvey and Minnie Ortner - was illegally demolished January 2007. By then, it had ceased operating as a diner and was actually being subleased to a used car parking lot. For about 19 months, the site lay untouched after city officials put it under a development moratorium, its fate in limbo. Ghost rides were organized in its honor but community groups like Friends of Johnie's and The Coalition to Save Harvey's Broiler weren't quite ready to let the place die.

The place was definitely lively on Monday, as Friends and Coalition members walked around the site, which had been fenced off from the public (but had not stopped taggers from scrawling their graffiti on Johnie's famous "fat boy" sign). The City Council - with the exception of Councilwoman Anne Marie Bayer - and other city officials observed cleanup efforts, chatted with media and posed for photos with the Bob's Big Boy mascot. Mayor David Gaffin and Councilman Mario Guerra posed for shots as they climbed inside a bulldozer. Two dozen Warren High students also hung around to snap images.

Jim Louder, the Torrance Bob's Big Boy owner investing more than $2 million in the project, hopes to have the restaurant completed by the first half of 2009.

"A year and a half to get to this point,"  remarked Councilman Mario Guerra. "This is really cool."